"A mule is an animal with long floppy ears..."
–
kiamlalunoMar 31 '11 at 20:24

3

Not very relevant, but in Japanese it's "fukumimi" (福耳), which translates literally to "lucky ears". Buddha is depicted as having long ears, so it's thought that people with long ears have good fortune. One of those words that you wouldn't think exists.
–
Rei MiyasakaMar 31 '11 at 23:04

There's a difference between having long drooping ear lobes like the Buddha and having a lengthened helix. Surely there is a medical term for either.
–
MitchApr 12 '13 at 13:14

6 Answers
6

Go ahead, see if you can work that into a conversation.
–
RobustoMar 31 '11 at 14:36

I've never come across macrotous before, and to be honest I'd be lucky to have understood it without a pretty good context. Macrotic would do it for me, since I'm good with otic for of the ear. But apparently macrosis applies to any swollen / enlarged tissue or body part, with no particular suggestion of that being the ears.
–
FumbleFingersMar 31 '11 at 15:07

I don't agree with using words that no one but Merriam-Webster will understand; especially when there are perfectly good alternatives. Perhaps it's just the programmer in me, but this seems like the opposite of user-friendly (or should I say, discommodious?)
–
BlueRaja - Danny PflughoeftMar 31 '11 at 18:16

5

@BlueRaja: I still remember Thomas Pynchon using musaceous (banana-like) at the beginning of Gravity's Rainbow, and then, after I waited for years to use it, someone finally asked me: "How's that banana?"
–
Neil GMar 31 '11 at 18:22